gst. The cut and pasted information you posted above is a great sales blurb. I'm sure the OP would be more interested in your personal views. Cheers, Ozjohn
-- Edited by ozjohn on Monday 4th of February 2013 08:26:18 AM
Homer and Marge said
09:31 AM Feb 4, 2013
Has anyone out there towed with Nissan X Trail 2.5L petrol? Ours is 2 years old and in good nick. We are heading off in June with our new Coromal Transforma MT45 pop top. Homer is a bit worried that the Nissan may not have the power to tow the van. The tare of the van is 1170 and overall length is 6110mm. We travel light and will not be going off road. Heading off from the Atherton Tableland in June and heading across the top through WA. Looking forward to advice. Thanks Marge.
gst said
03:18 PM Feb 4, 2013
The X-Trail has been a winner for Nissan right from its release back in 2001. It is a crossover vehicle with options for either two wheel or all wheel drive, and an ideal size for family use and fun on weekends with its huge rear load space.
Not surprisingly, the wagon has gone from strength to strength since those early days. A second generation X-Trail was released in 2007 with some fairly evident changes, and then in August 2010 it was given a further face lift with an increase in size and design change. It is the 2010 model that now has the choice of three engines: a 2.0L and 2.5L petrol plus a 2.0L diesel, and a two wheel drive only version. The buyer has plenty of options, in fact, there are ten models to choose from, four diesels and six petrol derivatives.
These days the X-Trail sits high in the 21 vehicle compact SUV market segment, which includes popular models like the Subaru Forester, Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson, Mitsubishi Outlander, Holden Captiva just to name a few.
Ti Petrol
The popular Ti AWD 2.5L petrol wagon is the subject of this review and Nissan have certainly packed the features into this almost top of the range five seat capacity vehicle.
The heart of this X-Trail Ti is the 2.5L four cylinder twin cam 16 valve DOHC fuel injected engine producing 125kW of power, 226Nm of torque, which sees it moving smartly off the mark.
It can maintain easy highway cruising speeds and has the ability to tow up to 2000kg of braked trailer. Mated to a smooth-as-silk CVT gearbox, with six gears available for manual over ride, the engine accelerates quite well from a standstill and matches the CVT set up admirably. For normal city or highway driving, D for drive is the ideal selector placement.
The X-Trails cabin is sound insulated with little intrusion from wind or tyre noise, although under hard acceleration some engine noise may be heard. The ride is extremely comfortable thanks to the McPherson struts up front, a multi-link rear suspension set up and the general feeling is that youre in a much larger vehicle.
The driver will enjoy time behind the wheel of the X-Trail as it has a roomy and comfortable driving stance plus a spacious and well laid out dash with most controls within easy reach of the driver. Instrumentation is easily identified and monitored, with highlights of chrome and silver adding a touch of class. The Nissan Information Display is a useful item due to its modern functions, including SatNav with touch screen, reversing camera, Blue tooth, USB and other handy bits and pieces. The display I really liked was the fuel usage options that included current fuel consumption and the all-important Distance to Empty function all cars should have one of these!
Within the X-Trails cabin most functions are electrically operated. The cruise and radio controls are steering wheel mounted and the heated leather trimmed seats for driver and front passenger at controlled with the touch of a button.
Even though the front leg and head room are expansive, the rear leg room is somewhat restrictive, especially if there are tall people sitting in the front. Storage is a big plus within the main cabin of the X-Trail and besides the numerous holders and compartments, theres also an upper dash compartment with lid large enough to take wallets, phones and other small personal items.
gst said
03:24 PM Feb 4, 2013
Nifty Nissan X-Trail Ti 2.5L Petrol : Fishing Monthly Group this where I got the information from hope it helps.
gst said
04:47 PM Feb 4, 2013
Your right myself I would not tow that much weight with one unless it was diesel I use my son Xtrail it was ok as long as you keep feeding it it used alot of fuel with weight in it we towed a small trailer
with camping gear along the WA coast from Rockingham to Onslow bit heavy on petrol.
Homer and Marge said
05:38 PM Feb 4, 2013
Thanks for feedback so far. Lots to consider. Marge
dazren said
06:55 PM Feb 4, 2013
Gidday Homer and Marge, IMHO, YES, i have not actually Towed with one, However i have driven my Sister-in-laws quite a bit, and was rather impressed, ?
i would NOT tow 2000kg with it, But would have no worries towing a poptop if around the 1600kg total loaded wght ?
My previous Rig and Van, was a 2002 mazda tribute, towing a 2004 Avan erin poptop total loaded wght around 1540 kgs, tow that for more thn 35000 klm [ not any problems at all ]
I would say that the 2.5 petrol X-trail would tow 16 FT PopTop even better than my old Mazda with the 3 ltr engine, Yep ?? it may chew up a little petrol when towing ?? But all vehicles do ?? as a rough guide my Mazda used to return around 10 ltrs p/100 k when not towing, and when towing this would go up to 15-16 lts per 100k on petrol [ mine was Duel/Fuel ] Towing on Lpg returned 21-22 Ltr per 100 ] and imho i reckon the X-trail on petrol would return similar figures
So i think the X-trail and Coromal [ if under 1600kg ] would be a good combination, [ but that is only my personal thoughts ? ]
Also check out the situation re use of a W.D.H.i KNOW THE EARLIER MODEL xTRAIL THEY COULD NOT BE USED and i do not know if this has changed, ??? personally i am a strong believer that if towing anything more than 1500 kg with a light SUV, Then a Weight/dist/hitch. is a Must !
Ok ? thats me 2 bobs worth, Happy and Safe Travels, Rgs Dazren.
Boothie said
12:11 AM Feb 5, 2013
Currently towing a Jayco 16.52.1 Sterling with 2006 model petrol manual. Breaks no speed records but seems to handle it okay. Bit hungry on fuel in the hills. No WDH as not recommended by Nissan, even the newer models. Car did not move when van was hooked up at the dealers and they recommended not using a WDH.
I'm happy and drive accordingly. Only thing that troubles me is B-doubles and road trains coming the other way, but that is more of a discomfort thing with the wind buffet!
I wouldn't tow much more than the current van though.
Cupie said
01:36 AM Feb 5, 2013
Daughter tows a 1600?kg Jayco Destiny with a 2008 petrol TI and is very pleased with it. Can't help with consumption details. SIL who has a heavy foot reckons that it does the job very well.
I drive it sometimes in city traffic and find it a pleasure to drive. The breaks are out of this world as I found out in an accident near miss.
tcp99 said
02:05 AM Feb 5, 2013
I purchased an Xtrail Petrol ST2.5 in November to tow a new Avan Cruiseliner which is around 900kg. It drives well but when I started to tow the van I noticed it can really struggle away from lights, especially on higher grades. When it gets moving no problem in driving at 100k.
I booked it in for a 10,000 service next month and mentioned that I want it looked at for lack of power.
Terry
ozjohn said
02:25 AM Feb 5, 2013
Quite frankly I don't reckon 226Nm torque would pull the skin off a custard. And a WDH must not be used on any model X-Trail. Ref: Nissan Australia & Hayman Reece. Ozjohn.
justcruisin01 said
07:37 AM Feb 5, 2013
I believe the Xtrail standard drive system is front wheel drive & engages the rear when four wheel drive is required.
I would never use a front wheel drive for towing a van.
JC.
Boothie said
07:09 AM Feb 6, 2013
Stupid is as stupid does, why not tow with front wheel drive on road and tow on gravel road with all wheel drive?
Front wheel drive has the advantage of pulling through the corner, the towed vehicle will therefore, by simple physics, follow through the corner better.
I love driving and towing with front wheel drive vehicles, the front wheel just pulls you around corners and your turning circle is something else.
You also never worry have to worry about the boys in blue pulling you over because the missus has just peeved you off and you layed rubber towing the van!
jimricho said
02:13 PM Feb 6, 2013
justcruisin01 wrote:
I would never use a front wheel drive for towing a van.
JC.
I'm with JC on this one. The extra torque required for towing will be transferred to the road much more effectively due to the extra weight on the rear wheels whereas the weight on the front wheels will be less. (WDHs are used to overcome this front wheel weight reduction and restore steering stability). The more the vehicle is "pulling" (or accelerating) the better the rear wheels grip. Likewise the front wheels do most of the work when braking the vehicle.
The best option for gravel roads is full-on 4WD (ie centre diff locked, or front hubs "in" if older style 4WD). The loose gravel and/or corrugations will ensure that transmission "lock-up" doesn't occur. I was taught that by a very experienced 4WD tag-along guide. Don't forget to disengage 4WD when backing onto a site, that will cause a transmission lock-up.
Jim
dazren said
05:54 PM Feb 6, 2013
sorry doubled up on post ????
-- Edited by dazren on Wednesday 6th of February 2013 11:58:32 PM
-- Edited by dazren on Wednesday 6th of February 2013 11:59:25 PM
Cupie said
06:02 PM Feb 6, 2013
jimricho wrote:
The Don't forget to disengage 4WD when backing onto a site, that will cause a transmission lock-up.
Jim
Pardon me for editing your post, but I wanted to focus on the point that I wanted to comment on.
Although I am well aware of the transmission lock up issue, for the last 13 years I have used low range 4WD to reverse my 1995 Patrol & 21'6" Jayco for around 10M of bitumen right angle turn & then 15m of grass up an incline to park the van beside the house. Does it easily with no wheel spin & resultant tearing of the turf. Nor do I have to ride the clutch.
Never had transmission lock up ... Just lucky maybe. Or possibly the short distance is OK.
ps. Used the same technique in Exmouth to reverse the van up out of the storm drain up onto the elevated site.
dazren said
01:52 AM Feb 7, 2013
Cupie wrote,
Pardon me for editing your post, but I wanted to focus on the point that I wanted to comment on.
Although I am well aware of the transmission lock up issue, for the last 13 years I have used low range 4WD to reverse my 1995 Patrol & 21'6" Jayco for around 10M of bitumen right angle turn & then 15m of grass up an incline to park the van beside the house. Does it easily with no wheel spin & resultant tearing of the turf. Nor do I have to ride the clutch.
Never had transmission lock up ... Just lucky maybe. Or possibly the short distance is OK.
ps. Used the same technique in Exmouth to reverse the van up out of the storm drain up onto the elevated site.
Gidday Cupie, also forgive me for editing your post ?? justcruisin, and Jimricho, were making comments on entirely different vehicle to yours Yours is a Full 4WD with Manual and High/Low Range The vehicles that JC annd Jimricho were relating to is only a Softroader [ nissan Xtrail ] That has no where near the capabilities of your Patrol, Having owned Mazda Tribute [ softroader ] in the past, I can Assure you that if i put it through the procedures that you have described here ???? Then without a Doubt !!! I would have got Diff/Lock ??
Jimricho and JC, were only giving there opinins on the suitability of towing, with a ''front wheel drive '' vehicle and i also agree with them that FWD is not the best choice for a tow vehicle, But having said that My Mazda tribute towed my 16'6'' Avan poptop for well over 30000 Klm Trouble free, and never got bogged once, and i went to a lot of tracks and beaches along the Murray,
Back to the original thread by Homer and Marge , They already have a good car in the X-trail and they are very happy with it, They only want to know IF the X-trail will tow there 140 Kg tare van- and IMHO, and experience with a similar vehicle, with slightly heavier van Yes It will ""?? And in there position if i was only travelling 6-8 weeks a year, I would not go to the expense of updating the vehicle As it will do the job, Not the BEST ? vehicle For Long term towing, But by no means the worst either,
Well thats my two and sixpence worth ?? Happy and safe travels to all,
neilnruth said
02:10 AM Feb 7, 2013
Well I haven't read all of the above posts but we tow a 14.5ft Viscount with our XTrail (it's 7 years old and has done 240000 kms) and we have had no problems. I'd have to ask my husband what weight we tow but he loves our XTrail - and why do we need to pull away from lights at top speed anyway? Even though it is rated to pull 2 tonne there is no way he would. And we only use the 4WD option when we need it and it is uses petrol.
jimricho said
04:53 AM Feb 7, 2013
Just to clarify the 4WD bit so we can then get back on topic....
My tug is a Pajero that offers (1) 2WD (rear), (2) 4WD with centre diff unlocked, often referred to as "All wheel drive" and (3) 4WD locked, (both high and low range) ie centre diff locked, this is the same as the old fashion 4WD transfer cases where when 4WD is selected both axles are locked together (assuming free-wheeling hubs are "in") and there is no centre diff involved.
My comment was that this last option is the best for driving on a gravel road (towing or otherwise). If the centre diff is locked and the backing or manoeuvring onto a site involves sharp turns (they usually do) this will most likely risk a transmission lock-up due to the difference in distance travelled by the front and rear wheels. (I've had it happen) This is not the case with All Wheel or 4wd, centre diff not locked.
I hope I've explained that clearly
Jim
Cupie said
05:01 AM Feb 7, 2013
dazren wrote:
Cupie wrote,
Pardon me for editing your post, but I wanted to focus on the point that I wanted to comment on.
Although I am well aware of the transmission lock up issue, for the last 13 years I have used low range 4WD to reverse my 1995 Patrol & 21'6" Jayco for around 10M of bitumen right angle turn & then 15m of grass up an incline to park the van beside the house. Does it easily with no wheel spin & resultant tearing of the turf. Nor do I have to ride the clutch.
Never had transmission lock up ... Just lucky maybe. Or possibly the short distance is OK.
ps. Used the same technique in Exmouth to reverse the van up out of the storm drain up onto the elevated site.
Gidday Cupie, also forgive me for editing your post ?? justcruisin, and Jimricho, were making comments on entirely different vehicle to yours Yours is a Full 4WD with Manual and High/Low Range The vehicles that JC annd Jimricho were relating to is only a Softroader [ nissan Xtrail ] That has no where near the capabilities of your Patrol, Having owned Mazda Tribute [ softroader ] in the past, I can Assure you that if i put it through the procedures that you have described here ???? Then without a Doubt !!! I would have got Diff/Lock ??
Jimricho and JC, were only giving there opinins on the suitability of towing, with a ''front wheel drive '' vehicle and i also agree with them that FWD is not the best choice for a tow vehicle, But having said that My Mazda tribute towed my 16'6'' Avan poptop for well over 30000 Klm Trouble free, and never got bogged once, and i went to a lot of tracks and beaches along the Murray,
Back to the original thread by Homer and Marge , They already have a good car in the X-trail and they are very happy with it, They only want to know IF the X-trail will tow there 1140 Kg tare van- and IMHO, and experience with a similar vehicle, with slightly heavier van Yes It will ""?? And in there position if i was only travelling 6-8 weeks a year, I would not go to the expense of updating the vehicle As it will do the job, Not the BEST ? vehicle For Long term towing, But by no means the worst either,
Well thats my two and sixpence worth ?? Happy and safe travels to all,
Huh? ... Dazred, maybe you could re read my post please.
Sure I was off topic. But I was just commenting on the extract that I quoted vis. "Transmission lockup".
I am certainly aware of the difference between a 4.2 L conventional full 4WD Patrol and a front wheel drive soft roader Nissan Xtrail and was making no comparison between the two totally different vehicles.
I was commenting on my experience with (non) Transmission lockup.
dazren said
08:14 AM Feb 7, 2013
Cupie wrote, [ in part ] ---- Huh? ... Dazred, maybe you could re read my post please
No need ??? understood it the first time, ? Your Low range 4wd drive did not lock-up ! If same was done in the x-trail ?? It would lock-up Just trying to assist Homer and Marge with the opinion they asked for in their thread ???
Oh ? and does the Huh? -- stand for '' in case you misread my post '' ????
neilnruth said
03:12 AM Jun 6, 2013
I posted above to say how well our XTrail tows a 14.5ft van (old style). We have had no problem towing the van but we have had a knock recently when we haven't had the van on and when the car went in for service this week my husband asked them to find it. Sorry to say, there is a crack in the chassis where the towbar has been attached. The dealer has emailed Nissan to see how to repair it - after having taken the Nissan supplied towbar off. From my internet search I'm concerned to see that this may be a problem caused by the way the towbar is attached. As I see it, it is a Nissan problem. I'm wondering what others would think. I'm also concerned for those who are towing far heavier vans than ours. I repeat, we've had no problem towing our weight (probably loaded as 1000kg) but some who have posted in this thread are towing well over that. The first thing our service man wanted to see was our caravan rego paper. He said it was obviously not the weight that was the problem. I will update when we find out more. It goes back in again tomorrow.
glendadon said
04:00 AM Jul 9, 2013
Hi I have a 2005 xtrail 2.5 engine and I use it to pull my 17 ft Viscount vintage van and it has no problem towing, sure it uses a bit more fuel as it is recommended that being an auto I do not use the overdrive button and I use it in all wheel drive not two wheel or four wheel unless on a dirt road and it will tow at a safe 90 kilometres all day. Reading the Nissan forum they say the motor in these is equivalent to the V8 of the 1970s,we love our xtrail and yes it will pull your caravan.
Homer and Marge said
04:02 AM Jul 9, 2013
Hi Neilnruth, how did you get on with the problem you had with the chassis on your Xtrail. Hope it was sorted out.
gst.
The cut and pasted information you posted above is a great sales blurb.
I'm sure the OP would be more interested in your personal views.
Cheers, Ozjohn
-- Edited by ozjohn on Monday 4th of February 2013 08:26:18 AM
Has anyone out there towed with Nissan X Trail 2.5L petrol? Ours is 2 years old and in good nick. We are heading off in June with our new Coromal Transforma MT45 pop top. Homer is a bit worried that the Nissan may not have the power to tow the van. The tare of the van is 1170 and overall length is 6110mm. We travel light and will not be going off road. Heading off from the Atherton Tableland in June and heading across the top through WA. Looking forward to advice. Thanks Marge.
The X-Trail has been a winner for Nissan right from its release back in 2001. It is a crossover vehicle with options for either two wheel or all wheel drive, and an ideal size for family use and fun on weekends with its huge rear load space.
Not surprisingly, the wagon has gone from strength to strength since those early days. A second generation X-Trail was released in 2007 with some fairly evident changes, and then in August 2010 it was given a further face lift with an increase in size and design change. It is the 2010 model that now has the choice of three engines: a 2.0L and 2.5L petrol plus a 2.0L diesel, and a two wheel drive only version. The buyer has plenty of options, in fact, there are ten models to choose from, four diesels and six petrol derivatives.
These days the X-Trail sits high in the 21 vehicle compact SUV market segment, which includes popular models like the Subaru Forester, Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson, Mitsubishi Outlander, Holden Captiva just to name a few.
Ti Petrol
The popular Ti AWD 2.5L petrol wagon is the subject of this review and Nissan have certainly packed the features into this almost top of the range five seat capacity vehicle.
The heart of this X-Trail Ti is the 2.5L four cylinder twin cam 16 valve DOHC fuel injected engine producing 125kW of power, 226Nm of torque, which sees it moving smartly off the mark.
It can maintain easy highway cruising speeds and has the ability to tow up to 2000kg of braked trailer. Mated to a smooth-as-silk CVT gearbox, with six gears available for manual over ride, the engine accelerates quite well from a standstill and matches the CVT set up admirably. For normal city or highway driving, D for drive is the ideal selector placement.
The X-Trails cabin is sound insulated with little intrusion from wind or tyre noise, although under hard acceleration some engine noise may be heard. The ride is extremely comfortable thanks to the McPherson struts up front, a multi-link rear suspension set up and the general feeling is that youre in a much larger vehicle.
The driver will enjoy time behind the wheel of the X-Trail as it has a roomy and comfortable driving stance plus a spacious and well laid out dash with most controls within easy reach of the driver. Instrumentation is easily identified and monitored, with highlights of chrome and silver adding a touch of class. The Nissan Information Display is a useful item due to its modern functions, including SatNav with touch screen, reversing camera, Blue tooth, USB and other handy bits and pieces. The display I really liked was the fuel usage options that included current fuel consumption and the all-important Distance to Empty function all cars should have one of these!
Within the X-Trails cabin most functions are electrically operated. The cruise and radio controls are steering wheel mounted and the heated leather trimmed seats for driver and front passenger at controlled with the touch of a button.
Even though the front leg and head room are expansive, the rear leg room is somewhat restrictive, especially if there are tall people sitting in the front. Storage is a big plus within the main cabin of the X-Trail and besides the numerous holders and compartments, theres also an upper dash compartment with lid large enough to take wallets, phones and other small personal items.
Nifty Nissan X-Trail Ti 2.5L Petrol : Fishing Monthly Group this where I got the information from hope it helps.
Your right myself I would not tow that much weight with one unless it was diesel I use my son Xtrail it was ok as long as you keep feeding it it used alot of fuel with weight in it we towed a small trailer
with camping gear along the WA coast from Rockingham to Onslow bit heavy on petrol.
Gidday Homer and Marge, IMHO, YES, i have not actually Towed with one, However i have driven my Sister-in-laws quite a bit, and was rather impressed, ?
i would NOT tow 2000kg with it, But would have no worries towing a poptop if around the 1600kg total loaded wght ?
My previous Rig and Van, was a 2002 mazda tribute, towing a 2004 Avan erin poptop total loaded wght around 1540 kgs, tow that for more thn 35000 klm [ not any problems at all ]
I would say that the 2.5 petrol X-trail would tow 16 FT PopTop even better than my old Mazda with the 3 ltr engine, Yep ?? it may chew up a little petrol when towing ?? But all vehicles do ?? as a rough guide my Mazda used to return around 10 ltrs p/100 k when not towing, and when towing this would go up to 15-16 lts per 100k on petrol [ mine was Duel/Fuel ] Towing on Lpg returned 21-22 Ltr per 100 ] and imho i reckon the X-trail on petrol would return similar figures
So i think the X-trail and Coromal [ if under 1600kg ] would be a good combination, [ but that is only my personal thoughts ? ]
Also check out the situation re use of a W.D.H.i KNOW THE EARLIER MODEL xTRAIL THEY COULD NOT BE USED and i do not know if this has changed, ??? personally i am a strong believer that if towing anything more than 1500 kg with a light SUV, Then a Weight/dist/hitch. is a Must !
Ok ? thats me 2 bobs worth, Happy and Safe Travels, Rgs Dazren.
Currently towing a Jayco 16.52.1 Sterling with 2006 model petrol manual. Breaks no speed records but seems to handle it okay. Bit hungry on fuel in the hills. No WDH as not recommended by Nissan, even the newer models. Car did not move when van was hooked up at the dealers and they recommended not using a WDH.
I'm happy and drive accordingly. Only thing that troubles me is B-doubles and road trains coming the other way, but that is more of a discomfort thing with the wind buffet!
I wouldn't tow much more than the current van though.
Daughter tows a 1600?kg Jayco Destiny with a 2008 petrol TI and is very pleased with it. Can't help with consumption details. SIL who has a heavy foot reckons that it does the job very well.
I drive it sometimes in city traffic and find it a pleasure to drive. The breaks are out of this world as I found out in an accident near miss.
I purchased an Xtrail Petrol ST2.5 in November to tow a new Avan Cruiseliner which is around 900kg. It drives well but when I started to tow the van I noticed it can really struggle away from lights, especially on higher grades. When it gets moving no problem in driving at 100k.
I booked it in for a 10,000 service next month and mentioned that I want it looked at for lack of power.
Terry
Quite frankly I don't reckon 226Nm torque would pull the skin off a custard.
And a WDH must not be used on any model X-Trail. Ref: Nissan Australia & Hayman Reece.
Ozjohn.
I believe the Xtrail standard drive system is front wheel drive & engages the rear when four wheel drive is required.
I would never use a front wheel drive for towing a van.
JC.
Stupid is as stupid does, why not tow with front wheel drive on road and tow on gravel road with all wheel drive?
Front wheel drive has the advantage of pulling through the corner, the towed vehicle will therefore, by simple physics, follow through the corner better.
I love driving and towing with front wheel drive vehicles, the front wheel just pulls you around corners and your turning circle is something else.
You also never worry have to worry about the boys in blue pulling you over because the missus has just peeved you off and you layed rubber towing the van!
I'm with JC on this one. The extra torque required for towing will be transferred to the road much more effectively due to the extra weight on the rear wheels whereas the weight on the front wheels will be less. (WDHs are used to overcome this front wheel weight reduction and restore steering stability). The more the vehicle is "pulling" (or accelerating) the better the rear wheels grip. Likewise the front wheels do most of the work when braking the vehicle.
The best option for gravel roads is full-on 4WD (ie centre diff locked, or front hubs "in" if older style 4WD). The loose gravel and/or corrugations will ensure that transmission "lock-up" doesn't occur. I was taught that by a very experienced 4WD tag-along guide. Don't forget to disengage 4WD when backing onto a site, that will cause a transmission lock-up.
Jim
sorry doubled up on post ????
-- Edited by dazren on Wednesday 6th of February 2013 11:58:32 PM
-- Edited by dazren on Wednesday 6th of February 2013 11:59:25 PM
Pardon me for editing your post, but I wanted to focus on the point that I wanted to comment on.
Although I am well aware of the transmission lock up issue, for the last 13 years I have used low range 4WD to reverse my 1995 Patrol & 21'6" Jayco for around 10M of bitumen right angle turn & then 15m of grass up an incline to park the van beside the house. Does it easily with no wheel spin & resultant tearing of the turf. Nor do I have to ride the clutch.
Never had transmission lock up ... Just lucky maybe. Or possibly the short distance is OK.
ps. Used the same technique in Exmouth to reverse the van up out of the storm drain up onto the elevated site.
Cupie wrote,
Pardon me for editing your post, but I wanted to focus on the point that I wanted to comment on.
Although I am well aware of the transmission lock up issue, for the last 13 years I have used low range 4WD to reverse my 1995 Patrol & 21'6" Jayco for around 10M of bitumen right angle turn & then 15m of grass up an incline to park the van beside the house. Does it easily with no wheel spin & resultant tearing of the turf. Nor do I have to ride the clutch.
Never had transmission lock up ... Just lucky maybe. Or possibly the short distance is OK.
ps. Used the same technique in Exmouth to reverse the van up out of the storm drain up onto the elevated site.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gidday Cupie, also forgive me for editing your post ?? justcruisin, and Jimricho, were making comments on entirely different vehicle to yours Yours is a Full 4WD with Manual and High/Low Range The vehicles that JC annd Jimricho were relating to is only a Softroader [ nissan Xtrail ] That has no where near the capabilities of your Patrol, Having owned Mazda Tribute [ softroader ] in the past, I can Assure you that if i put it through the procedures that you have described here ???? Then without a Doubt !!! I would have got Diff/Lock ??
Jimricho and JC, were only giving there opinins on the suitability of towing, with a ''front wheel drive '' vehicle and i also agree with them that FWD is not the best choice for a tow vehicle, But having said that My Mazda tribute towed my 16'6'' Avan poptop for well over 30000 Klm Trouble free, and never got bogged once, and i went to a lot of tracks and beaches along the Murray,
Back to the original thread by Homer and Marge , They already have a good car in the X-trail and they are very happy with it, They only want to know IF the X-trail will tow there 140 Kg tare van- and IMHO, and experience with a similar vehicle, with slightly heavier van Yes It will ""?? And in there position if i was only travelling 6-8 weeks a year, I would not go to the expense of updating the vehicle As it will do the job, Not the BEST ? vehicle For Long term towing, But by no means the worst either,
Well thats my two and sixpence worth ?? Happy and safe travels to all,
My tug is a Pajero that offers (1) 2WD (rear), (2) 4WD with centre diff unlocked, often referred to as "All wheel drive" and (3) 4WD locked, (both high and low range) ie centre diff locked, this is the same as the old fashion 4WD transfer cases where when 4WD is selected both axles are locked together (assuming free-wheeling hubs are "in") and there is no centre diff involved.
My comment was that this last option is the best for driving on a gravel road (towing or otherwise). If the centre diff is locked and the backing or manoeuvring onto a site involves sharp turns (they usually do) this will most likely risk a transmission lock-up due to the difference in distance travelled by the front and rear wheels. (I've had it happen) This is not the case with All Wheel or 4wd, centre diff not locked.
I hope I've explained that clearly
Jim
Huh? ... Dazred, maybe you could re read my post please.
Sure I was off topic. But I was just commenting on the extract that I quoted vis. "Transmission lockup".
I am certainly aware of the difference between a 4.2 L conventional full 4WD Patrol and a front wheel drive soft roader Nissan Xtrail and was making no comparison between the two totally different vehicles.
I was commenting on my experience with (non) Transmission lockup.
Cupie wrote, [ in part ] ---- Huh? ... Dazred, maybe you could re read my post please
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No need ??? understood it the first time, ? Your Low range 4wd drive did not lock-up ! If same was done in the x-trail ?? It would lock-up Just trying to assist Homer and Marge with the opinion they asked for in their thread ???
Oh ? and does the Huh? -- stand for '' in case you misread my post '' ????
Sorry to say, there is a crack in the chassis where the towbar has been attached. The dealer has emailed Nissan to see how to repair it - after having taken the Nissan supplied towbar off. From my internet search I'm concerned to see that this may be a problem caused by the way the towbar is attached. As I see it, it is a Nissan problem. I'm wondering what others would think.
I'm also concerned for those who are towing far heavier vans than ours. I repeat, we've had no problem towing our weight (probably loaded as 1000kg) but some who have posted in this thread are towing well over that. The first thing our service man wanted to see was our caravan rego paper. He said it was obviously not the weight that was the problem.
I will update when we find out more. It goes back in again tomorrow.
Hi Neilnruth, how did you get on with the problem you had with the chassis on your Xtrail. Hope it was sorted out.
Marge